Section 14 in Bureau of Indian Standards (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018
14. Application for licence to use hallmark.
(1)Any manufacturer engaged in refining by aqua-regia or electrolytic process or minting of precious metals, as the case may be, shall apply for a grant of licence under these regulations.(2)The application under sub-regulation (1) shall be made in Form-VIII annexed to these regulations along with fee specified in Schedule-V.(3)The application shall be accompanied by self-certified copy of the following documents, namely:-(a)proof of the establishment of the firm or company;(b)proof of the address of the premises;(c)proof of identity of the signatory;(d)map indicating location of the premises from some nearest prominent landmark;(e)micro or small scale industry certificate, if applicable;(f)process flow chart of refining or minting, as applicable(g)design and weight of the bullion or coin, as applicable(h)list of manufacturing machinery in Form-IX annexed to these regulations;(i)list of test equipment with valid calibration in Form-X annexed to these regulations;(j)accreditation of the laboratory of refinery or mint by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) or London Bullion Market Association (LBMA);(k)plant layout;(l)list of technical personnel;(m)list of certified reference material; and(n)test report of in-house testing.(4)The application form shall be signed by the applicant or by any other person authorised in this regard.(5)The application shall be rejected, if it is not accompanied by requisite fee.(6)The application shall be acknowledged after its receipt and recorded after scrutiny, if found in order.(7)The Bureau may call for any supplementary information or documentary evidence from the applicant in support of or to substantiate any statement made by him in his application.(8)The Bureau may reject an application, if,-(a)the application is found to be incomplete or without specified documents or does not fulfill the specified requirements.(b)at any time during processing of application it is found that the applicant is indulging in any malpractice amounting to misuse of hallmark for which it is liable to be prosecuted under the Act;(c)the applicant does not have the necessary infrastructure and competence as per the relevant Standard and for compliance to the provisions of scheme of testing and inspection;(d)the refined precious metal does not conform to relevant Standard;(e)the application is submitted before expiry of cooling period in case of cancellation or non-renewal of licence as specified in sub-regulation (9) of regulation 19 or conviction under provisions of the Act as specified in sub-regulation (12).(9)Before rejecting an application, the Bureau shall give notice to the applicant citing the deficiencies therein.(10)The applicant may furnish his reply with necessary documents and may request for hearing, either in person or through a representative authorised by him on his behalf within fourteen days from the receipt of the notice.(11)The decision of the Bureau with the grounds of rejection shall be communicated in writing to the applicant.(12)An applicant or a person convicted under the provisions of the Act shall not be eligible to apply for a cooling period of one year from the date of such conviction.(13)The application fee shall not be refundable in case of rejection of application under sub-regulation (8).
